Brother of Brussels bomber to represent Belgium at Olympics

Mourad Laachraoui, the brother of one of two suicide bombers who attacked the Brussels airport in March, will represent Belgium at the Rio Olympics in the Taekwondo competition.

Laachraoui, 21, won gold at the European Taekwondo Championships in Montreux, Switzerland, on Friday and will compete in the under-59 kg category in Brazil. He will be on a squad of 185 Belgian athletes bound for the August games.

His older brother, Najim, 24, was one of two suicide bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport in the March 22 terrorist attacks that left 32 people dead.

At a news conference after the attacks, Mourad described his brother as a “nice, intelligent boy” who showed no signs of being radicalized before fleeing to Syria three years ago.

Mourad said the family had not been in contact with his brother since 2013 but became suspicious after police came to their home to ask questions following the Paris terror attacks in November that killed 130 people.

Investigators have described Najim as a master bombmaker who is suspected of making explosive belts used in the Paris attacks… see more

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